Excerpts from: “A Nation Torn: Reconciliation, and The Re-emergence of Secessionist Movements in a Post War Society. A case study of Nigeria”
Writing this paper took a lot from me, I had to be comfortable and at home with many uncomfortable truths. Truths that I was aware of but had not faced in a while. Being a Nigerian keeps you in a state of constant pondering and sighing…and this was me as I carried out this research. A point reached where I was tired and the burden of this knowledge did nothing for me, but cause me sleepless nights filled with wonder. I did not see the point of continuing because who would this have helped? Not me, not the people of Nigeria, why? Because our leaders do not care. That is the sad but honest truth, this feeling of helplessness plagued me as I wrote this, and is reflected in the quality of work. But one thing about being a Nigerian, you push, you push regardless of the situation, at least just get to the finish line. Well below are some excerpts from the paper; a 15,000 word culmination of my 2 and a half years at the Graduate Institute of Geneva.
“Forgiveness and reconciliation are not just ethereal, spiritual, other-worldly activities. They have to do with the real world. They are realpolitik, because in a very real sense, without forgiveness, there is no future.” ~ Desmond Tutu
Over the past few years, I have noticed the resurgence of the topic of war and conflict, they have popped up as conversational points at social gatherings, dinner parties, academic events, news segments and clippings, you name it. Conflict has plagued our society for many centuries, it has been the building blocks for many civilizations and has also played a part in the downfall of many civilizations. The concept, method and understanding of war, peace and conflict, changes with every generation and so does the reasons for war, peace and conflict; but what seems to not change is the effects of war and the wreckage it leaves behind. This wreckage is forever present not just after the war but for decades and centuries to come. Societies that have faced war are never really the same, communities and their economies are destroyed, sources of livelihoods taken, and most importantly lives lost. War dishevels a society, leaving only a shell left in its place, it takes time to build up the physical seen wounds and also the unseen wounds of war. War has a way of bringing people together, building a sense of community, but it also destroys whatever sense of unity that was there before. When that unity in a community is destroyed, it takes a special will to rebuild, if not one can forget the mere existence of that community. Many civilizations affected this way by war, have put reconciliation and rebuilding as the forefront of their road to recovery. Some societies have succeeded, many have not. Nigeria and many other former colonies are one of the few nations that seem to have persevered regardless of war, on paper. But the hidden wounds I earlier discussed have started to resurface and gain a physical appearance. As with anything in life, one has to face problems and situations head on to effectively tackle and solve them. Regardless of how uncertain the future is, ignorance of our history and past will only prove detrimental to societal progress. As the Dalai Lama rightfully said, “most human conflicts can be solved through genuine dialogue conducted with a spirit of openness and reconciliation”; but is reconciliation all it is set out to be? Is reconciliation all that is needed to fill the cracks caused by war?
As Lincoln loosely put, “we cannot escape history” so it is better to face our history and learn from mistakes made in order to stop them from reoccurring and to quote Guillemets, “ no volume of history is insignificant, even the worst chapters. Especially the worst chapters”. So, when it comes to war and conflict a failure of language and dialogue breeds the fire which leads to a collapse and leaves behind rubble; in that same breath an understanding of dialogue and language through reconciliation should rebuild the rubble.
Since Nigeria’s inception, conflict has been a foundational part of history; starting from the colonial exploration by the British that came with conflict and bloodshed, to our various ethnic and religious wars, the Biafran War being our foremost example, with over 2 million lives lost. But still upon the devastation this war caused, many have not learnt because even till this day we are a nation in conflict. The damage conflict leaves behind is almost irreparable without attention, care, discourse and most imporatntly reconciliation. The common thread to the resolution of conflicts in society, from the massive wars to even interpersonal conflicts, stems from reconilaition. We can see this clearly in Germany and South Africa, even though the wounds are not completely healed some progress has been made. Bear in mind no society will ever be hundred percent free from conflict and its fruit but actively working to rectify these problems, is a good start.
In the case of Nigeria there has been no form of reconciliation and the country has suffered greatly for this. Although on the other hand some may say reconciliation was well done but as I mentioned others do not agree, I am with the latter. Reconciliation cannot be carried out without an acknowledgement of the acts committed, without talking about the past/ history. The start of the problems, the key players, the victims, the aftermath. Till date there is no Remembrance Day but we celebrate foreign war memorial days, no statues to honor anyone, it is hardly taught in schools public and private, this part of our history has been completely shut out. Some think for the best, as what is the point of opening or returning to old wounds.
Reconciliation is about restoring society and ensuring trust to enable cooperation. The government of Nigeria with their “No Victor, No Vanquished” theory, are of the belief that the healing of post war trauma can be done socially, taking place within the communities but I disagree, a wider scale healing headed by those in power is what needs to occur to ensure cohesion and proper healing with society. In my opinion an agenda for social healing, for example a framework to establish adequate security, if crisis were to happen again is what needs to be set up. There will be aid and justice, to open pathways of trade, between and amongst communities, even cleansing of land, religiously and spiritually. This should easily set up a future for adults and families alike affected.
Many have tried to heal these wounds on their own by intermarrying, the coownership of businesses, religious trade, religious conversions, and migration; no matte how good this effort is, it is still not enough as the effort needs to be led by the head of the nation. It needs to be led by those put in the position to serve and take care of the nation of Nigeria. They cannot expect the poorly equipped citizenry to heal themselves of trauma caused to them by the government. Even in smaller situations, a bully cannot expect their victim to self-heal, nothing good ever comes of that. Just more damage will occur, on top of the already weak foundation, in the end everything is bound to crash. You cannot build a house on top of weak foundation, it will only collapse. The foundation needs to be strong, that is the same way you cannot keep on sweeping dirt under a rug or pushing your mess under your bed. Because it is hidden does not mean it is gone forever, eventually it will all spill over and that is when it will be the hardest to solve and clear up.
Some may say old ethnic divisions no longer an issue, as simpler religious divides are there, Muslim, and Christian but I beg to differ, ethnic divides have worsened and religion has made them even worse. Without there being a discussion of the past, these hurts and sentiments are being passed down generations and these societal and structure issues within and between ethnicities will not stop. For reconciliation to be achieved, we as a citizenry and a nation must understand the concept of violence amongst the victors and identify the victims (not just the fallen); we must also be made aware of our history, this hush hush nature of history telling in the nation must come to a stop. It is a shame that in 2022, due to the many ethnic conflicts and the division in the country history cannot be taught in Nigerian schools. History has been struck out of the school system because people will argue about who has the right version of history. We must also learn to document our history and not ignore it, in order to have something to reference in dire times. The government must also recognize the roles of interpreters of the story of the violence and conflict experienced in the nation, we cannot be satisfied with twisting the story to fit political needs because this will come back and haunt us dearly. We cannot afford to make the same mistake made earlier as they will cause major problems for the country in the future. Violence has now become a part of the average Nigerians daily life, and because we do not know about our past we do not know how to face or properly handle the situation we have been put in. What is even more disappointing is that we are being led by the same people that experienced the aftermath and devastation of the war, yet they choose to keep quiet about their failings and what can be done to prevent such a travesty from ever occurring again.
“Even though we are living in a sad state, I would not want to live anywhere else. Nigeria is home”
This statement shows that Nigerians have learnt to manage in terrible conditions and have grown accustom to living a reduced quality of life, that being said we still tend to excel regardless of terrible circumstances. Also, the majority of Nigerians have grown to love their country Nigeria even with all its flaws and problems, they would rather live in the disintegration country than anywhere else.
“Even if we have not physically broken up, as a nation we are living in a very fragmented state. We might as well be separate countries”
The irony of this statement is that even in the Federal Capital Territory of the Country (Abuja, F.C.T), a secessionist group and also a terrorist organization better known as Boko Haram were able to hoist their flag in a small village on the outskirts of the city. The fringe group have not faced any consequences and in fact have been heavily rewarded in ransom payments. They have pillaged cities, killed and kidnapped many innocent and well-meaning Nigerians; yet nothing has been done by the Government. On the other hand, in the east and west where the IPOB and ODUDUWA Republic have a presence and stronghold in some areas, although nonviolent have been pummeled and molested by the Nigerian government and their security forces. In cases where they decided to provide their own security and even take back control of their own economy, they were harassed for doing so. This is pretty strange behavior from a nation that provides nothing for its people, and its people have to be their own government. A people that provide their own security, power, water, healthcare, employment, and even infrastructure, all of a sudden when a group of people asking for their self-determination do so they are faced with state sanctioned violence.
The situation in Nigeria is dire and, in my opinion, the only way we can start to solve the issue is through reconciliation. Reconciliation that not only involves apologies and memorialization, but an upheaval of the current system and institutions we are currently living under. Reconciliation that address the failures in the educational system, reconciliation that puts facts and history first not cowers at the sight if the truth. Reconciliation that can call forward wrong doers and reprimand the corrupt and evil. This is the true reconciliation we need, total reconciliation; we need to have a space where people can be free to discuss their grievances and efforts will be made to ensure there are solutions to these grievances.It is extremely sad that the government have decided that the war did not exist and that even if it did those affected by the travesty of that war have miraculously gotten over the strains of the war. The sad truth is that these sentiments have been passed down generation to generation.
The nation has a very long way to go, and as earlier mentioned the first step to achieving that is a proper acknowledgment of the war, the victors, the vanquished and the damage it caused. Another issue we as Nigerians need to address is our history of colonialism, and I think this too may apply to other former colonies. You cannot know your future without understanding your past, it is a vital part of a country’s development and as we can see many of our issues come from a weak developmental foundation. If we can fix that then we will be well on the way to working together as a country.The concept of reconciliation is very important but with that being said there is not quick fix solution; time needs to be taken in order to properly execute the main components of reconciliation retributive and restorative justice. But this solution is not a one size fits all solution, it needs to be tailored to the country and people it is being set out for, it should be culturally relevant to Nigerians and especially those wronged. Hard and harsh dialogues must be hard, and no matter how painful they need to be carried out. Also, it cannot just be dialogues alone as I earlier mentioned, the reconciliation needed for Nigeria should entail all aspects of the country, institutional, economical and even political.
One day I hope for a country where even though we did not choose to live as one, we have conquered and rode on as a one unit. Showing only respect and love to one another along the way.
As John Henrik Clark rightly put, “History, I have often said, is a clock that people use to tell their political time of day. It is also a compass that people use to find themselves on the map of human geography. History tells a people where they have been and what they have been. It also tells a people where they are and what they are. Most importantly, history tells a people where they still must go and what they still must be.”
